Module 10 Operant & Cognitive Approaches

OPERANT CONDITIONING Operant conditioning –Also called _________________________________ –Kind of learning in which an animal or human performs some behavior –Following consequences (__________________________________) increases or decreases the chance that an animal or human will again perform that same behavior

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Thorndike’s law of effect –behaviors followed by _____________ consequences are strengthened –behaviors followed by _______________ consequences are weakened Skinner’s operant conditioning –Operant response: can be modified by its consequences and is a meaningful, easily measured unit of ongoing behavior –Focuses on how consequences (rewards or punishments) affect behaviors –1920s and 1930s discovery of two general principles Pavlov’s classical conditioning Skinner’s operant conditioning

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D)

Principles and procedures –Skinner box __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ________________________________ efficient way to study how an animal’s ongoing behaviors may be modified by changing the consequences of what happens after a bar press –Three factors in operant conditioning of a rat __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Shaping (molding behavior) –Facing the bar _____________________________________________ –Touching the bar ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Shaping –Pressing the bar ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ____ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Immediate reinforcement –________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Superstitious behavior –________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Examples of operant conditioning –Toilet training target behavior preparation reinforcers shaping –Food refusal target behavior preparation reinforcers shaping

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Operant versus classical conditioning –Operant conditioning goal: _____________________________________ ____ –voluntary response: must perform voluntary response before getting a reward –emitted response: animals or humans are shaped to emit the desired responses

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Operant versus classical conditioning –Operant conditioning contingent on behavior: ________________________________________ ________________________________________ reinforcer must occur _______________the desired response consequences: animals or humans learn that performing or emitting some behavior is followed by a consequence (reward or punishment)

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Operant versus classical conditioning –Classical conditioning goal: create a new response to a neutral stimulus involuntary response: physiological reflexes (salivation, eye blink) elicited response: unconditioned stimulus triggers or elicits an involuntary reflex response, salivation, which is called the unconditioned response

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D) Operant versus classical conditioning –Classical conditioning conditioned response: neutral stimulus becomes the conditioned stimulus if it occurs before the conditioned response expectancy: animals and humans learn a predictable relationship between, or develop an expectancy about, the neutral and unconditioned stimuli –classical conditioning leads to learning a predictable relationship between stimuli

REINFORCERS Consequences –________________________________________________ _____________________________________ Reinforcement –________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Punishment –________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

REINFORCERS (CONT’D) Reinforcement –Positive reinforcement refers to the presentation of a stimulus that ____________ the probability a behavior will occur again –Negative reinforcement refers to an _____________ whose __________________the likelihood that the preceding response will occur again

REINFORCERS (CONT’D) Reinforcers –Primary reinforcers stimulus such as food, water, or sex; innately satisfying and requires _______________________________________ _______________________________________ –Secondary reinforcers stimulus that has acquired its reinforcing power through experience; secondary reinforcers are learned, such as by being paired with primary reinforcers or other secondary reinforcers

REINFORCERS (CONT’D) Punishment –Positive punishment __________________________________________ –Negative punishment __________________________________________ noncompliance: refers to a child refusing to obey a command/request given by a parent or caregiver time-out: removes reinforcing stimuli after an undesirable response –removal decreases the chances that the undesired response will recur

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT Skinner’s contributions –Schedule of reinforcement refers to a program or rule that determines _______ and _______ the occurrence of a response will be followed by a reinforcer –Continuous reinforcement ______________________ results in delivery of the reinforcer –Partial reinforcement refers to a situation in which responding is reinforced only ______________________________________________

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT (CONT’D) Partial reinforcement schedules –Fixed-ratio schedule a reinforcer occurs only after a ________________of responses are made by the subject –Fixed-interval schedule a reinforcer occurs after the ___________that occurs after a __________________of time

SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT (CONT’D) Partial reinforcement schedules –Variable-ratio schedule a reinforcer is delivered after an _______________of correct responses has occurred –Variable-interval schedule reinforcer occurs after the ______________ correct response after an ____________of ______ has passed

OPERANT CONDITIONING (CONT’D)

OTHER CONDITIONING CONCEPTS Generalization –Animal or person emits the same response to similar stimuli –Tendency for a stimulus similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response similar to the conditioned response Discrimination –Occurs during classical conditioning when an organism learns to make a particular response to some stimuli but not to others –Discrimination stimulus; cue that a behavior will be reinforced

OTHER CONDITIONING CONCEPTS (CONT’D) Extinction and spontaneous recovery –Extinction procedure in which a conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the unconditioned stimulus the conditioned stimulus tends to no longer elicit the conditioned response –Spontaneous recovery tendency for the conditioned response to reappear after being extinguished, even though there have been no further conditioning trials

COGNITIVE LEARNING Cognitive learning: attention and memory –Says that learning can occur through _________________________and may not involve external rewards or require a person to perform any observable behaviors Three viewpoints –Against: B. F. Skinner (“As far as I’m concerned, cognitive science is the creationism (downfall) of psychology”) –In favor: Edward Tolman explored hidden mental processes cognitive map; mental representation in the brain of the layout of an environment and its features

COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT’D) Three viewpoints –Also in favor: Albert Bandura focused on how humans learn through observing things Social cognitive learning –Results from watching and modeling; doesn’t require the observer to perform any observable behavior or receive any observable reward

COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT’D) Learning-performance distinction –Learning may occur but may not always be measured by, or immediately evident in, performance Bandura’s social cognitive theory –Emphasizes the importance of ________________, ________________, and ____________________in the development and learning of social skills, personal interactions, and many other behaviors

COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT’D) Four processes –Attention ____________________________________________ –Memory ____________________________________________ –Imitation __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ________________________________ –Motivation __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________

COGNITIVE LEARNING (CONT’D) Insight learning –Insight ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ____

BIOLOGICAL FACTORS Definition –Biological factors innate tendencies or predispositions that may either facilitate or inhibit certain kinds of learning –Imprinting inherited tendencies or responses that are displayed by newborn animals when they encounter certain stimuli in their environment –Critical or sensitive period a relatively brief time during which learning is most likely to occur

APPLICATIONS Behavior modification –Treatment or therapy that changes or modifies undesirable behaviors by using principles of learning based on operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and social cognitive learning –Autism marked by poor development in social relationships great difficulty developing language and communicating; very few activities and interests long periods of time spent repeating the same behaviors and following rituals that interfere with more normal functioning

APPLICATIONS –Autism symptoms range from mild to severe usually appear when a child is 2 to 3 years old –Biofeedback training procedure through which a person is made aware of his or her physiological responses, such as muscle activity, heart rate, blood pressure, or temperature after awareness of physiological responses, a person tries to control them to decrease psychosomatic problems

APPLICATIONS